Kyiv claims five Moscow fighter jets hit by drones – Ukraine war live


Wagner chief Prigozhin killed

Ukraine hit five of Moscow’s fighter jets with an overnight drone strike on Russian soil, a source in Kyiv’s security service has told Ukrainian outlets.

Russia’s defence ministry claimed to have shot down two drones in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, which both border Ukraine, giving no information about possible damages or casualties.

But the Kyiv Post and Ukrainska Pravda both cited sources in Ukraine’s SBU security service as claiming strikes on four Russian Su-30 fighter jets and one MiG-29 at an airfield in Kursk.

It came as Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was confirmed by Russia’s Investigative Committee to have died in a plane crash near Moscow on Wednesday, citing the results of genetic tests it said confirmed the identities of the 10 bodies found in the wreckage.

Western politicians and commentators have speculated that Mr Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed as punishment for Wagner’s brief mutiny in June. Meanwhile, a resurfaced clip of Prigozhin talking about a “plane falling apart in the sky” has resurfaced on social media.

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Discontent brewing in Crimea over Russia’s forced mobilisation push

Local reports from inside Crimea indicate increasing dissatisfaction with the Russian military’s efforts to forcibly mobilise the population of the peninsula it illegally annexed in 2014.

A closed survey of locals by Russian-backed authorities sought people’s opinions on the military draft in which the results show “an extremely negative attitude” towards conscription, reported Ukraine’s National Resistance Centre in the region.

The movement by Kyiv’s Special Operations Forces is aimed against the occupation of Ukraine.

The survey results, according to the resistance centre, motivated occupation authorities to offer conscripts additional benefits, but these bonuses were unlikely to sway the public mood, the report added.

Arpan Rai28 August 2023 05:25

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Zelensky says attacks on Russian soil risk loss in military support for Ukraine

Ukraine risks losing military support from some “major powers” if the battlefield shifts to Russian territory, Volodymyr Zelensky has warned in a domestic broadcast interview.

The Ukrainian president has been reticent to claim any responsibility for an uptick in drone attacks on Russian soil in recent weeks, and asked by a reporter whether he thought the war should move to Russia, he said on Sunday that there was a “big risk” that Ukraine could alienate itself.

He said: “There are big states in our world, very big states, for whom there is only one point for which they are not on Russia’s side – this is the territorial integrity of the state. If I deliberately direct my troops and decide to go to Russian territory, I must know for sure that this state will not be with me. And then you have to think about what is more important now for the people and Ukraine.”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 04:52

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Russia shoots down two drones over Kursk, Bryansk regions

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces shot down two drones overnight in two regions bordering Ukraine.

One drone was shot down over the Bryansk region in Russia’s west and another in the Kursk region, just south of it, the defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging channel.

There was no further information about possible damage or casualties.

Arpan Rai28 August 2023 04:48

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Who is ‘Juice’? The ‘mega talent’ Ukrainian pilot killed in mid-air plane crash

Ukraine is mourning the loss of three fighter pilots killed as two training aircraft collided in the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv.

Singled out for particular praise by president Volodymr Zelensky and Ukraine’s airforce is Captain Andriy Pilshchykov, a pilot who went by the military callsign “Juice”.

The late pilot, who was 30 years old when the crash occured over the western Zhytomyr region on Friday, had become known not just for his defence of Ukraine, but also for his passionate advocacy for the United States to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

The Mig-29 pilot first won fame in Ukraine as he took part in “dogfights” with Moscow’s fighter jets in the skies above Kyiv during the initial months of Russia’s invasion, according to Ukrainian news outlets.

Arpan Rai28 August 2023 04:37

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Genetic tests confirm Wagner chief Prigozhin died in plane crash

Genetic tests conducted on the remains of passengers from the private jet which crashed near Moscow last week have confirmed the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian officials said.

“As part of the investigation of the plane crash in the Tver region, molecular-genetic examinations have been completed,” Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.

“According to their results, the identities of all 10 dead were established. They correspond to the list stated in the flight sheet,” it said.

A list of 10 names, including the Wagner chief and his close associates, was published by Russia’s aviation agency soon after the private jet crashed in the Tver region northwest of Moscow on Wednesday last week.

They included Prigozhin as well as Dmitry Utkin, his right-hand man who helped found the Wagner mercenary group.

There had been some speculation, especially on pro-Wagner Telegram channels, about whether Prigozhin – who was known to take various security precautions in anticipation of a possible attempt on his life – had really been on the doomed flight.

Authorities are yet to explain what they believe caused his private jet to fall from the sky.

Arpan Rai28 August 2023 04:00

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Drone destroyed by air defences near Moscow, says mayor

Air defences in Russia shot down a hostile drone near Moscow in the early hours today, city mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

“Today, air defense forces in the Lyubertsy region destroyed a drone flying towards Moscow. Emergency services are on the scene,” he said on a Telegram message around 4am.

According to preliminary information no casualties or damage on the ground have been reported, he said.

Arpan Rai28 August 2023 03:54

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Mapped: What gains have Ukraine made in Zaporizhzhia

Here is the latest battlefield assessment in Zaporizhzhia from the US-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank, where Ukrainian forces are thought to have broken through Russia’s first line of defence to have seized the village of Robotyne.

The think-tank said on Saturday that geolocated footage suggested Kyiv’s troops had progressed to a treeline some distance from Robotyne, and were approaching a vast anti-tank ditch forming part of Russia’s second line of defences:

Russia appears to have also made gains west of Robotyne

(Institute for the Study of War)

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 03:46

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Who is ‘Juice’? The ‘mega talent’ Ukrainian pilot killed in mid-air plane crash

Ukraine is mourning the loss of three fighter pilots killed as two training aircraft collided in the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv, with a fallen pilot who went by the military callsign “Juice” singled out for particular praise by president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The late pilot, who was 30 years old when the crash occured over the western Zhytomyr region on Friday, had become known not just for his defence of Ukraine, but also for his passionate advocacy for the United States to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets.

You can read more about the pilot here:

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 02:43

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Watch: Ukrainian troops evacuate civilians from Robotyne as troops gain foothold

Ukrainian troops evacuate civilians from Robotyne as troops gain foothold

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 01:33

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Zelensky singles out Ukrainians for praise in nightly address

Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked Ukrainian troops and medics “who have distinguished themselves the most in protecting lives and Ukraine” over the past week, in his nightly address.

The Ukrainian president singled out numerous individuals for praise, including Yaroslav Bevz, who he said was among the first soldiers to enter the Zaporizhzhia village of Robotyne, and who returned the Ukrainian flag to a school which had been destroyed Russian troops.

He also thanked employees of the State Emergency Service across Ukraine, highlighting those in Odesa “who took part in the liquidation of the consequences of terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure”, and civil defence chiefs who “personally evacuated the wounded from the destroyed bus station in Dnipro”.

And in what appeared to be a possible reference to the drone strike on five Russian fighter jets in Kursk, claimed by an SBU source, Mr Zelensky added, that “today – without names, without details, but there is something to recognise our intelligence officers and special services for … Well done indeed!”

Andy Gregory28 August 2023 00:39



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